The Nationals are back home at last, needing to get healthy this week against a couple of struggling opponents (the Mets and Twins) and happy to be welcoming back one of their key lineup members and clubhouse presences. Jayson Werth is coming off the disabled list (though the move hasn't officially been announced yet) and is expected to be in the lineup for the first time in a month.

Werth's return will help, but the Nationals will need better offensive production up and down their lineup, trying to escape the MLB basement in on-base percentage. They drew six total walks over their last seven games, a rate that simply cannot be sustained.

Jordan Zimmermann, meanwhile, takes the mound, trying to forget about his rare poor start last week in Baltimore and get back on track against a poor Mets lineup. If he can do that, the right-hander will earn his ninth win of the season in his third attempt.

[UPDATE AT 5:30 P.M. — You've probably heard by now about the flurry of roster moves the Nationals have made, but here they are in condensed form: Jayson Werth has been activated off the DL, Danny Espinosa (wrist) has been placed on the DL, Henry Rodriguez and Zach Duke have been designated for assignment, Anthony Rendon has been recalled from Class AAA Syracuse and left-hander Ian Krol has had his contract purchased from Class AA Harrisburg. Chase Hughes has the full story here, which he'll be updating shortly with quotes from Davey Johnson and Mike Rizzo.]

Ghost Of Steve M. said… I'm hoping he is on the flight to Reagan National this morning or on the Lerner private jet. It's a no brainer and he can trade places with Kobernus who isn't playing anyway. June 04, 2013 9:31 AM I knew someone from AAA was headed here. Thought it was Corey Brown. Had no idea it was Anthony Rendon.That is a shocker!

"Correct Eric. Although I read one tweet that said Espi is headed to AAA."Right, that's what I'm thinking. I read the news as he's either going down or going under the knife, not going on the 15- or even 60-day DL.

I'm calling it now:The Nats will make the World Series some season in the next few years and HRod will shut us down in the bottom of the 9th of a 1-run game 7.It will be our last taste of the Nats' 2013 early season luck.

I am popping a Michelob Ultra right now. Finally! Only disappointment is no Corey Brown but that's a move for another day.Rizzo was lying through his teeth yesterday or the owner of the team chewed some rump roast and got accountability.Ian Kroll on the roster! I called that one too and Peric told me NO WAY will they call him up to the Majors.This is CHANGE and a lot of it. Surprised.

No chance that the Nats bring up Rendon to sit on the bench. Not saying Rendon is starting every game, but I would expect Rendon start the vast majority of games at 2nd. Surprised that they dumped Henry, despite his issues. He was the Nats closer about a year ago. Dominant stuff is hard to find.

We've finally gotten to the "I'm tired of watching them pitch" stage, it would appear. I suspected when the Bos column came out that big moves were coming – he obviously knew they had Plans.Henry DFA'ed, it sounds like. I assume Duke too? How does it work if (as I imagine will happen) no one claims him? Henry might be picked up by someone like the Astros or Marlins who don't have to worry about competing and can afford to wait on potential.I do root for him to figure it out at some point, though maybe not this year…he always seemed to be trying his hardest, even if I hated to see him enter a game here.

"Espinosa's locker has disappeared from clubhouse."He punched it so hard they couldn't remove it from his hand. Had to buy an extra seat for it on the plane to wherever he's going.On the plus side, he can easily hit .130 with a locker on his hand. And since it's considered a piece of equipment, his OBP will go way up thanks to all the HBP.

MicheleS said… Add it to my tab ghost I will happily pay up.Virtual pay up. Liking it. I just want to gloat to Peric.A few weeks ago he told me no way on Kroll that he would be called up from AA and no way for Rendon to play 2nd base.This is a new day in Nats Park. Still not the best 25 but at least 25 Davey can use.

Also, one would think no Duke means they're reasonably confident at least that Det will be coming back soon, I'd assume? Even if Duke's not a *good* option, someone in that bullpen other than Stammen will have to do long relief at some point. Maybe Karns will be sticking around in that role after all.

"Rizzo was lying through his teeth yesterday or the owner of the team chewed some rump roast and got accountability."Of course Rizzo wasn't telling the truth about what was about to go down at a public function like that. It's like when a GM gives the manager a vote of confidence and two days later he's fired.

Need to take a breath and remember that things won't magically transform overnight. Werth will need time after single a pitching. Rendon will need to adjust as will Kroll.other guys will be hearing footsteps now. Rizzo always plays things like the CIA.

Ghost, you deserve to gloat. You've been pounding the keyboard for weeks about the needed moves.Great call on Kroll and Rendon to 2nd base! The crowd hadn't been with you until recently but you kept with it. Not saying the players owe you thanks but it's good when someone sticks to what they think is right. Obviously Rizzo agrees with you. [WINK]

Seconding this from Em DashI do root for him to figure it out at some point, though maybe not this year…he always seemed to be trying his hardest, even if I hated to see him enter a game here.and this from swm (I've been let go before, although not for poor performance. Not pleasant.)But there's no need to kick these guys when they are down. Lets move forward please.

Wow…assume Rendon is being given an adjustment day and will become the regular second baseman. He obviously needs to be playing regularly wherever he is.Hope Espi takes this the right way in the long run. Get healthy and then hit the reset button.Praise the lord that Duke is gone…interesting that they gave up on Henry but I'm ok with that.

Section 135 said… The best part is that Riz and Davey actually did what everyone on here was calling for and even more. I guess they were as sick of watching this team as all of us were.Not everyone was calling for this. Last night there were still calling to keep Espinosa.I also believe that Ted Lerner put this in motion. At some point there does need to be accountability. Mr. Lerner eats all these salaries for the DFA'd players and if Rendon stays up he will now qualify for 4 years of arbitration. That's a lot of cash spent today so I believe Mr. Lerner was involved in either a small way or large way.

David Proctor said… Dan Kolko reports Espinosa has been optioned to AAA, Kilgore reports he's on the DL. So…?So they obviously have the same high journalistic standards regarding verifying rumors as the rest of the press did when they initially reported that the Supreme Court had struck down Obamacare.

Wow! Rendon might be here to stay (playing 2B and some 3B if Zim goes bawkier). Espi's likely going under the knife, I'd guess. HRod gets claimed, I'd bet. The club still needs a Lh reliever, maybe 2. I bet the club responds and scores some runs tonight in bunches. We'll see.

If Lerner was involved with Espi being sent down, it would only have been because Boras probably called him. Espi was basically making league minimum. As for the DFAs of Duke and Rodriguez, together they were making less than $2M. That's chump change to Lerner. He'd want a report on the monthly balance sheet, that's all. He's not going to lose any sleep over Rizzo doing that.

Hey- Lannan spent the entire year in AAA after being our opening day starter. No one is too good for that . Could be he will get a choice of that or surgery. This is so crazy! I may even have to watch the mid- Atlantic snooze fest!

So say Espi goes under the knife and comes back completely healthy next February, after Rincon (gotta pull that one back out of the fannypack…) has made a good run at Rookie of the Year honors.THEN what?

He'd tell them, but he'd have to kill them after.Candide said… If Rizzo ever gets tired of baseball, the CIA or NSA should hire him three seconds later. He could be having a massive heart attack and no one would know unless he wanted them to. June 04, 2013 4:13 PM

Lets finish the job. Gimme Corey Brown for Shark. Brown up to .287 at Syracuse. .333 last 10 games with 5 bombs. Went 4for 5 last night. Its a no brainer. I love the Shark, but its what have you done for me lately.

Section 222 said… With Rendon here, NL can breathe easy about a backup 3B if Tracy is the next to go. June 04, 2013 4:19 PM LMAO! Emergency SS is Lombo and Desi now has to be wrapped in bubble wrap as the earliest Espi can return is 14 days from today.

So much for driving to work. So much for peeps here saying Rizzo would take the easy way out and send Kobernus back. What happened to Kobernus in the shuffle, by the way? The CIA should hire Rizzo, wow, NO LEAKS!!!

The timing on this is interesting. Savvy bit of narrative-setting, I'd say – odds are that the team will start to do a little better anyway due to opponents faced, and so by making moves right beforehand the media story becomes that they've improved due to some gutsy front office moves. Very smart.

The 15 day DL is 15 days minimum. He doesn't have to start a rehab assignment at any specific time, only when he's ready to come back. He could be going on the 15 day DL until he has the surgery, at which point he'd go on the 60 day DL. In the interim, he's available after 15 days as insurance in the rare case that a bunch of guys get hurt.

No reason to move Kobernus at this point, NatsLady. Nobody else is needed.I like all of these moves, and the timing of them as well. Good job by the organization in all respects. I would have liked to see Danny to the DL a little sooner, maybe when the decided Kobernus was ready, but that's splitting hairs.

Big Cat, I'm not an Espi guy but have seen guys get real inspired riding buses and sleeping in Holiday Inn's. I was happy when I moved up to Hiltons in the old days. Never got to Hyatts where the big boys stayed in Chicago and NYC and LA.

I'm sure as soon Rendon makes an error at 2B, or has an 0-4 night there will be second guessers here. But the fact is that this team had no chance to win the division with a No. 7 hitter batting below .160. This move had to be made and probably should have been made sooner. Things could happen to make an Espi return to DC necessary, but for now, this is the best option we had. I'm very glad Rizzo took it.As for the pitching staff, it was also untenable to hold on to H-Rod given that he simply could not be counted on to deliver in a pressure situation. And while Duke had not quite reached H-Rod's level of ineptitude, he didn't give us any reason to keep him around. It's nice to have a lefty long man, but not one who almost never is lights out.Anyone know if Krol can go more than an inning at a time?

SS is interesting now. Lombo could play a game or two at SS, but that is about it. So, if at any point in the future Desmond is out for any significant time before Espinosa comes back, the Nats will pick up someone up from another team to play SS. Would not be surprised to see the Nats pick up a Ronnie Cedeno type in the next week as the Nats have no legit back up options at SS right now.

>>>SS is interesting now. Lombo could play a game or two at SS, but that is about it. I actually checked to see who'd played SS a few days ago. Lombardozzi has played quite a bit and Kobernus has played a little.I think they'd just need to finish the game in case of injury and then call some one up if the need arose.

Rizzo said they may have Espinosa to spend time in the minors when he's healthy. They will also look at shoulder in addition to wrist #Nats. Rizzo says the Nats will put Espinosa "in a position to put his feet on the ground" once healthy. Meaning a possible option.

From Chase on Twitter: "Davey on Espinosa's wrist: 'He didn’t want anyone to look at it and then when we x-rayed it we found out it was broke.'"Placing the blame more squarely on Espi, in addition to him not being there to talk to reporters about a 15-day-DL stint, would suggest the relationship between him and the club has pretty well soured, would it not?

Honestly, I'd prefer to see Henry go to the Astros, or any lousy team in the AL. What I saw of him over the past several weeks was that when he throttled back his fastball to 96-98 mph, he had adequate – not great, adequate – control. Then last week, against the Braves, in a do-or-die situation, he didn't throw a pitch under 101 and his wildness lost the game (along with the Nats' lineup of futility players).If he can learn to not get amped up, that combined with his 80 mph changeup, his fastball is actually better at 98 mph over the plate than at 102 over the catcher's head, he could be one of those guys batters walk back to the plate muttering to themselves about.But I don't want him to figure that out with the Marlins or the Mets, or Babe Ruth help us, with the Braves.

OK, so, the Nats look like their batting order is close to as it should be — for the first five guys, at least. And even that is the first in a long time.OK, folks, strap on the seatbelts. We knew this was coming — been talking about it for weeks:We now enter a 105-game stretch where most everybody we play is not an elite team. This, and some new guys, and Harper back next week, is when we start to make our move.GYFNG! Look out — here we come!

That's the thing…it's not The Look that I got used to seeing earlier in the season. He looks preoccupied or something…Hopefully I'm wrong…he started getting his pitches down at with the last batter so that's a good sign…

Did MLB win the suit to get the documents from the clinic? If so, I am not 100% confident Go is still in the clear. Hopefully if they did get the documents no new mentions were made of him in them.Fingers crossed…

"Lombo may not be the slick fielder that Espinosa is, but you can't complain that he's hurting us in the field."I've never been worried about Lombo at 2B. He's solid, just not as slick as Espi and isn't a HUGE step up at the plate, recent efforts notwithstanding entirely.

David, I JZimn doesn't look physically uncomfortable, just preoccupied/not as confident as usual. Hopefully he's just having bad warm up sessions and going through something with mechanics or something.

One player listed who will be scrutinized but possibly exonerated is the Nationals' Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez was listed among Biogenesis clients, but two sources told ESPN that the only substances he received from the clinic were legal.

"Gio is fine. MLB has pretty much absolved him already."Only problem is the Miami Herald didn't give them access to full documents. And, now Bosch is testifying. Again, hopefully the extent of Gio's name showing up surfaced fully early on, but I see no reason to assume that.

Last paragraph of ESPN's story: One player listed who will be scrutinized but possibly exonerated is the Nationals' Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez was listed among Biogenesis clients, but two sources told ESPN that the only substances he received from the clinic were legal.

The thing I don't like is that a liar (Bosch) is telling stories. I haven't trusted him from the start and don't want to see any innocent players wrongly implicated in this.I think the "stink" that has been put on all players named is plenty as it is like a warning for speeding and get set straight.

Braun got caught before, but got off the hook on a technicality. This time, major pain for him. And the Yankees probably couldn't be happier to save ARod's salary for 100 games.From Biogenesis papers shown to date ot only was Gio not named as a client – his dad was – even his dad only got diet meds. Now if C.C. Sabathia had gotten the same stuff, it could be considered performance enhancing….

The key issue — assuming Mr. Bosch was distributing PEDs to some or all of these players — is how did they avoid detection. It would be worth a plea bargain with one or more of them to get that information.

"Unreal. Team just looks for ways to lose this year. Did an inning like that EVER happen last year? I don't remember back to back crappy defensive plays leading to multiple runs."It happened. It happens to every team at some point. The problem is it happens WAYYYYYY too much this year.

Well two things haven't changed. Our starters need to be perfect and we can make any pitcher, no matter how his season is going, look like Cy Young. Lets hope one thing that changes is that this team doesn't roll over and sleep thru the last three innings.

This is just absolutely maddening. It's getting to the point where the only bright spot is that my interest in and support for the team is utterly unwaning. I was kinda curious how my new found obsession would hold up in a prolonged period of poor play… At least now I know…

Just what this team needs,Jane. This game would be within reach in a normal universe in a normal season. But in this season which has somehow been cursed? It is almost not believable how many things are going wrong with regularity. I continue to be shocked. You would think the odds would occasionally be with us. Sigh…

JZim could be mad except he dropped the ball Valdispin hit. Catch it out on a bang bang play, then Ankiel',s grounder is an 3U. Thus he allowed those 2 runs to be scored. Outside of that he pitched great.The offense of course followed their fearless leader Eck

MNF said " Outside of that he pitched great". Truthfully he pitched well all night but a lack of run support and some sloppy fielding, some of JZ's own I would add, have put him in position for another loss.

kudos to David Proctor given his post @ 9:09pm…was going to ask if you could share what you are smoking but i refrained…nice call bro…much needed walk-off win and to hear it was the first of the year, wow!